Found then Lost Again
by Mutant Ninja Penguin
Summary: Ariadne hasn't seen the team in a year. When they come to Paris for her graduation, Arthur gets kidnapped, and he'll only get out alive if the team performs Inception. The only problem is, they have to perform it on Arthur.
1. Chapter 1

It was finally graduation day.

Ariadne was finally going to get to graduate from the college. No more essays or projects or lectures or notes. She had already sent in job applications to four architectural firms. Two of them had already offered her jobs, but she wasn't sure if she wanted either of them yet. She wanted to wait and see if the other two would accept her application. Also, though, she was hoping, hoping, that one of her old colleagues might contact her.

It had been a year since the inception. One year since she had gotten off the plane in Los Angeles and walked away from the world of dream sharing. There had been a no contact rule for three months, but she still hadn't heard from anyone. She wasn't really surprised though. She was just the architect, she was still in college, and she didn't know much about their world. The other four had known about it for years. Heck, Saito knew way more about it than she did.

She had no idea where any of them were. Well, she knew Cobb was in California with his kids, Phillipa and James. She guessed Yusuf had gone back to Mombasa, Eames was probably gambling away the money they had gotten from Inception, Saito was still the head of his giant company, probably scheming to take over the world, and Fischer she knew had broken up his father's empire. She had no idea where Arthur was, he probably kept moving around.

"Ariadne, hurry up! We have to go meet Emma at the school!" Marissa shoved her head through Ariadne's doorway, an impatient expression gracing her face. Marissa Reynolds was her roommate. Amy had originally been our third roommate, but she had to drop out to take care of her mom, who had developed AIDS. So now it was just the two of them.

"Ariadne, come on!" Marissa whined, coming into Ariadne's room and dragging her out of it. "You look fine, we need to get to the school!"

"The ceremony is in three hours, Marissa, calm down!" Ariadne yelped as Marissa jerked her wrist forward.

"No, it's in one hour!" Her red headed roommate shrugged into her coat.

"Um, Marissa, it's at four, not two." Ariadne informed her friend. Marissa turned around, halfway through buttoning her coat.

"It is?" she asked. Ariadne laughed.

"Yeah, it is. Did you read the email? Or listen to Professor Miles?" Ariadne rolled her eyes at the confused girl.

"Oh, but we still have to leave now." Marissa said, sitting on the arm of one of their chairs. "So go get your coat."

"Why do we have to leave now?'' The brunette asked, walking away to grab her scarf and red sweater. When she got to her room she quickly grabbed her bishop totem, flicking it over first to check reality. She still had to check each and every day that she was still in real life. Even when she hadn't seen or heard anything from anyone in the dream world, having her gold bishop calmed her down more than anything else. She shoved it in her pocket than collected the other stuff she needed.

"Because I told Emma we would meet her there at one thirty, because I thought it was at two. So right now, she's there with her husband waiting for us." She said, standing up when Ariadne came back with her coat and bag. "Let's go."

The two girls walked out of their apartment, locking the door behind them, and started down the staircase.

"Ugh, why do we have to live on the top floor?" Marissa complained when they hit the bottom floor.

"Because they have the biggest rooms on the fourth floor." Ariadne explained patiently, walking over to Marissa's silver Nissan. Slipping into the passenger seat, she shut the door and waited for Marissa to get in. Her roommate jogged over, throwing her bag at Ariadne as she sat down in front of the wheel.

"Why, dear roommate is your bag in my lap?" Ariadne asked, staring first at the bag, then at her friend. Marissa shrugged.

"I had to put it somewhere, and that was the easiest place to put it." Marissa stuck her key in the ignition, turned it, and backed up out of her space.

"You could have put it in the back," Ariadne said, grabbing the offending bag and tossing it onto the seat behind her. Marissa didn't answer, concentrating on the road. Ariadne sighed and leaned her head back, nervously playing with her white scarf.

"You ok?" Marissa glanced at her quickly before stopping at a stoplight. She looked back over. "You pointed it out, we have three hours. Anyway, Professor Miles loves you, you passed with flying colors, and you already have two job offers, and I bet the other two will want you two, so relax."

"I know, I'm just tired. And I'm still a little nervous." Ariadne closed her eyes.

"After that amazing speech I gave you you're still nervous?" Ariadne felt the car start moving again.

"I know, I should be ashamed." Ariadne said sarcastically. Opening her eyes, she turned her head and watched the streets of Paris pass by. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window. The sun was already high in the sky, but it was a pretty windy day, making it chilly.

"We are here!" Marissa announced, pulling into a parking space in the school parking lot. She leaped out and grabbed her bag from the back. Ariadne pulled her head off the window and got out too, slamming the door behind her. She pulled her sweater closer around her thin frame and followed her friend, running to catch up. The wind pulled at her clothes and hair. Marissa ran up to the door to the hall the graduation was going to take place in, and pulled it open. The small woman followed her inside and let the door close behind her.

"Ok, where will we find Emma?" Ariadne asked, looking around at the already crowded room.

"There is two and a half hours until graduation and there's already this many people here? No wonder the parking lot was so full. But seriously, why are they all here?" Marissa looked around the hall, trying to spot Emma and her family.

"It's probably all the families, I bet they're being shown around." Ariadne reasoned. "Wait, is that John?"

John was Emma's husband. Emma had married him two years ago, when she was twenty five and he was twenty six. Now they were both twenty seven and twenty eight. They didn't look very alike at all. Emma had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, a small, petite figure and a serious personality. John however, was tall, with blond hair and green eyes and had a silly, class-clown like attitude.

"Oh look, they brought Kayla." Marissa said, starting to walk over to the family. "Emma! John!" she called, grabbing Ariadne and starting to drag her over.

"I can walk on my own, you know." She said, pulling her arm free and following.

"Marissa, Ariadne! You guys are here!" Emma made her way over, followed by John and Kayla.

"Yeah, we're here. Marissa thought the ceremony was at two though." Ariadne said, stopping in front of Emma.

"Nope, it's at four." Emma said. She turned to her family. "You going to say hello?" she asked. Kayla looked up from her phone.

"Oh, hi Ariadne, hi Marissa." She said. She shoved her phone in her jeans pocket and hugged Ariadne. Ariadne smiled and hugged her back. Kayla let go and hugged Marissa too. Kayla wasn't Emma's and John's daughter. She was technically Emma's older sister's daughter, but when she died seven years ago, Emma offered to take her in. She might as well be their daughter though. Both Emma and John thought of her as one, and Kayla called them Mom and Dad. Emma also had a brother a year younger than her, but I had never seen him or met him. Apparently, Kayla and him were pretty close, but then he had to leave for work, and they hadn't seen him since.

Kayla might not have been their biological daughter, but she looked like she was. She was like a mix of the two. She was fourteen, with hazel eyes, light brown/ dirty blond hair. She was tall like her father, but she could be just as serious and focused as her mom could be, although she was a little more relaxed than Emma. Both Marissa and I knew her pretty well; we met her when we first became friends with Emma.

"How's school?" Ariadne asks her. She shrugs.

"It's ok, I don't like history or English, they're boring. I like math, it's actually kind of fun. I love, love, love science though. Most people seem to hate it though. I'm learning Spanish, but I don't see why, I mean, I already learned French and English. I don't think I need to learn Spanish, but whatever. High School isn't that bad I guess." She told us, sitting down in one of the chairs set up for the visitors. Emma turned to us.

"She's doing fine; she's passing with straight A's." Emma said proudly. "But they don't have an art class. I'm not thrilled with that. I think she'd be great at architectural design. But she doesn't get the chance. Oh well." She turned to look at Kayla when she started poking her. "Yes, Kayla?"

"Can I go get coffee? Please? There's a café, like, a block from here. Please?" Kayla begged. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Sure, if John agrees lets you." She told the girl. Kayla turned to John.

"Dad, please can I go? Please?" John stared at her and she stared right back. After a minute, he answered.

"You really are addicted to coffee now. Sure, but you have to come right back. You can drink it there if you want, but only go get coffee, don't go anywhere else. There and back, got it?" he said. Kayla nodded quickly, then hugged her adopted father.

"Thank you! I'll be back later!" She called over her shoulder, rushing out the door. John smiled after her.

"She really is obsessed with coffee. She discovered it halfway through the school year, and she's been hooked ever since." He said, shaking his head. He smiled at the two girls in front of him. "Hey guys, I'm pretty sure I never greeted you."

"Hey John. You excited now that Emma can work at your firm?" Marissa asked him. He smiled and put his arm around his wife.

"Why yes, yes I am." He said. Emma smiled and put her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him.

"What time is it?" she asked. Ariadne glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"About two, we have two hours until graduation." Ariadne stated. She glanced around. "Should we go find Professor Miles?" Ariadne asked the two other students. Marissa nodded.

"Might as well, considering we have no idea what's going on." Marissa stated. The other three nodded and they went off in search of Professor Miles.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Inception.**

Dominic Cobb was late.

Well, not late exactly. There was still an hour until the ceremony, but he was supposed to be there a half hour earlier. Arthur had contacted him a month before now saying that Ariadne's graduation was coming up, and that Eames really wanted to go and surprise her there. He had asked why Eames really wanted to, and Arthur had replied that he had no idea and was just assuming Eames was being Eames. So Cobb had left James and Phillipa back in the States with their Grandmother. The kids had made him promise that he would come back as soon as promise.

So he had contacted Miles and told him he was coming, along with the rest of the team. Miles had been suspicious at first of him trying to corrupt Ariadne, but after he explained they just wanted to see her graduate and weren't going to offer her a job, he relaxed and said he wouldn't tell her so it would be a surprise.

He had gotten on the flight to Paris, wondering how they had gotten Yusuf to come. After the Inception he had sworn to never leave his place in Mombasa again. Eames had probably manipulated him into coming some way. After he had landed in Paris he had staked out for a few days until the graduation. And then he had taken a nap and was late for meeting Eames and Arthur.

Walking into the hall, Cobb was immediately surrounded by people. Looking around and over people, he didn't spot one person he knew. He was about to start walking around when he felt someone crash into him. He looked down and realized he was standing right in the middle of the doorway.

"Oh, sorry." He said, looking at the girl who had bumped into him. She looked up from her phone. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes, and was balancing a coffee in her hand. She shoved her phone in her pocket and started looking around.

"Oh, it's fine. You probably want to get out of the door though." She informed him. He nodded and moved out of her way. She smiled at him, then walked into the crowd, which immediately swallowed her up. He shook his head, then followed her into the crowd. People surrounded him on all sides. He got to one side of the room and looked around again. He saw Miles and some students around him one with red hair, and two with dark brown hair. He realized one of them was Ariadne and hid back in the crowd.

"You seem lost." A voice said behind him. Cobb spun around, shoving his hand in his pocket to grab his totem. The voice behind him belonged to Eames, who was smirking at his surprise. Behind him stood Arthur, as always dressed in a suit and tie. Eames, however, was wearing a bright pink shirt with a dress jacket. It reminded Cobb of when he recruited him for the inception.

"I kind of was," Cobb admitted. He turned to Arthur. "Hey Arthur."

"Hello Cobb." Arthur greeted. Eames butted in.

"Yusuf will be here right before the ceremony. He wouldn't leave Kenya until the last minute." Eames rolled his eyes. "Have you seen our architect?"

"Yeah, she's over there talking to Miles." Cobb replied. The three men turned to look at the group gathered around Miles. There were five people, three women, one man and one girl. There was the red-head and the two brunettes. Looking closer, Cobb saw the one next to the red-head was Ariadne, with her red sweater and scarf. She was playing with something in her hands. He couldn't see what it was from where he stood, but it was metallic, reflecting the light. Next to the other brunette was the man, tall and blond-haired. The man's arm was around the girl who was holding a coffee.

"Hey, that's the girl who crashed into me earlier!" Cobb realized.

"Who, the red-head?" Eames asked immediately. Arthur rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Cobb snorted.

"No, Eames, the girl, the one who's around fifteen." Cobb told him. "Should we go sit down?"

Eames looked around. "No one else is sitting down, so no. We should go eavesdrop on them!"

"Now why would we do that?" Arthur asked, exasperated.

"Because," Eames stated gleefully, "I'm bored and we have to do something. And I'm tired of you. Consider it practice." Eames started off towards the group.

"Practice for what?" Arthur asked again. Cobb rolled his eyes and followed, Arthur muttering behind him.

"How are the kids?" Arthur caught up to him and straightened his tie.

"They're good; they made me promise to come back as soon as possible." Cobb smiled at the memory. Arthur gave him a small smile.

"Do you miss the dream-sharing world?" Arthur wondered as they tried to find Eames. Cobb looked wearily at him.

"I'm not going back." He warned. "So don't ask about a job."

"I wasn't going to." Arthur replied calmly. "I was going to ask how the new job was going." Cobb had gotten a job at a bank. It was boring, but it was better than being chased by people with guns.

"It's boring, but I'm not going to put James and Phillipa in danger." Cobb was going to continue, but Eames popped back right in front of them.

"Come on, you guys are slow." He told them. "Come on." He walked away, then stopped and started listening. Cobb and Arthur rolled their eyes but went to meet him. They watched as the young girl finished her coffee and extracted herself from the man and went to throw out he cup. She walked past them, looking for a trashcan.

"How's the job, John?" they heard as Miles asked the man, John.

"It's great, sir. My lovely wife is going to be joining me soon." John smiled at the brown haired woman next to him. She leaned against him, and his arm came up and wrapped around her shoulders. Arthur suddenly perked up a little, a frown slowly formed on his face. Cobb looked at him curiously, then turned back to eavesdropping.

"That's great, Emma." The red-head said, smiling at the woman. Cobb felt, for the second time that day, someone crashing into him. He jumped, alerting Eames and Arthur. Both turned to look at the person. Cobb realized who it was.

"Hey, you've already crashed into me today." He teased the girl. She smirked at him.

"You keep getting in my way." She retorted. She adjusted the sketch pad under her arm. She looked back up at him. "Since we keep meeting, who are you?" she asked.

"You can call me Cobb." He replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arthur stiffen.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"You can call me Kayla." She repeated his words. She smirked at him, then turned towards Arthur. "Hey, you look familiar. Do I know you? What's your name?"

"I'm Arthur." He said simply, still stiff. _He looked shocked_ Cobb thought.

"Oh, now I know why you look familiar. You look like my Uncle. I haven't seen him in years. None of my family has. My Mom is pretty pissed at him. You even have his name." She confided. Eames decided to start talking.

"In case you were wondering, darling, I'm Eames. And if you're Uncle resembles Arthur here," he put his arm around Arthur's shoulders, "then I pity you. He's a stick in the mud." Kayla laughed.

"You're British, aren't you? You have an accent. Lucky. I want an accent. Anyway, that's how my Mom described my uncle. I miss him. We haven't heard from him, in like, four years, I think? Yeah, four years. Anyway, sorry 'bout that. I better go. My parents are probably starting to freak out. See ya." She turned and walked away without a backward glance. Cobb turned to Arthur.

"Are you ok? You look, shocked." Cobb asked cautiously. Arthur looked up from the ground.

"Um, yeah." He said unconvincingly. Eames snorted.

"No, if you were fine, you wouldn't have said _um_ or _yeah_." Eames said condolingly. Arthur sighed, then ran a hand through his slicked back hair.

"Fine, I'm not."

"Why not?" Eames asked innocently. Arthur sighed again.

"That girl, Kayla. She's, she's…" Arthur looked pained. "She's my neice."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Inception**

Kayla Walters was confused, very confused.

Or maybe frazzled was more the word. Meeting the three strangers was strange, and making her come apart at the seams. The guy had looked almost exactly as Uncle Arthur had when he had announced he had to go away on a business trip.

And then he had never come back.

She sighed, using the free hand that wasn't clutching the sketch pad to run a hand through her hair. She remembered the night he had to go away on business for five months. He had just said it casually at the dinner table, as if it wasn't anything big at all. She had stared at him, then had run to her room. She had been more hurt then she had said she was. He had promised he would be there for her, he had promised her that they would go to London together, maybe go to Los Angeles. She hadn't been to America in years, her first Mom had lived there, but Emma lived in Paris. But overall, he had promised to never leave for too long. Five months was too long.

It was probably a dumb thing to freak out, a business trip, but she had been really close to Uncle Arthur. He had acted differently around her, not the stick in the mud her mom, both of them, liked to call him. The British guy called him that too.

She slipped back into the circle. She tried to listen, but she really didn't care about whatever they were talking about. She went over to the stage that the ceremony would take place on and carefully sat down, taking out the sketch pad. She studied it for a few seconds. It wasn't actually hers, it was Ariadne's. She had seen Marissa's car and decided to go see if it was locked. Marissa had a habit of forgetting things like that.

It wasn't locked. And Ariadne's bag had been on the floor, and peeking out of it, was her sketch pad. And if anything could keep Kayla from going crazy, it was drawing. After finding a few pencils, she had locked Marissa's car for her then headed back in.

The bored girl decided to look through the sketches. The first ones were architecture or other objects. A library. A church. A picture of a freight train. A sketch of a city layout, then an elegant hotel. Then they moved into action scenes. This surprised her, she had never seen Ariadne draw anything like this. One was of a woman falling from the ledge of a hotel window. The next one seemed like a combination of two of her earlier ones, a city street with a freight train going straight down it, pushing cars out of its way, leaving deep groves in the road. Then a man floating in zero gravity, in a hotel. Weird, but what was weirder was that the man looked like the man she thought was Uncle Arthur earlier.

"Okay then," Kayla murmured, flipping through the rest until she found an empty sheet. Taking a pencil out of her jeans pocket, she straightened her legs, creating a table to place the pad while she drew. She poised the pencil above the clean sheet, not knowing what to draw. Finally, she placed it gently on the paper. Closing her eyes for a second to find the image she wanted, she moved the pencil across the page, watching her image come to life on the white page.

"Hey, what are you drawing?" Kayla looked up, startled at being jerked out of her little world. Ariadne looked at her amusedly. "Sorry, but I couldn't help but notice that looks exactly like my sketch pad." Kayla looked down.

"It is, Marissa's car was unlocked like always, so I went to lock it, and I found this," she waved the pad of paper in the air, "and I really wanted to draw, so…" Kayla trailed off, glancing at Ariadne.

"Yeah, I know it's mine, I saw you going through my sketches. Oh, it's fine," she reassured the guilty looking girl, "I just wanted to know how you got it. And what you're drawing." Ariadne looked at the new addition to her sketch book. "Why did you draw that?"

Kayla looked at her drawing. It was a girl, looking out an airport window, watching as a plane took off. The plane was turned away from her, halfway into the stormy sky. The girl was the only person in the shot; the lights were off, throwing some of her figure into the shadows.

"I don't really know," Kayla leaned against the side of the stage. "I just miss my Uncle." She knew Ariadne had heard about him from her mom.

"What was he like?" The older girl asked softly, sitting down next to her. Kayla smiled as she thought about him.

"He was medium tall, I guess you could say, with dark brown hair and eyes. He always preferred dress shirts and pants too jeans and a t-shirt. Mom always called him a stick in the mud for that, and cause of his attitude. He could be really stiff and professional sometimes, but he wasn't always like that. Especially around me, he was more, more open. He was probably the person I was closest to, even before Mom and Dad, just because…" Kayla hesitated, glancing at Ariadne. She had known her for a while now. She was the person who had first really gotten her into drawing. Mom had already known her when she had come into the picture.

"I'm not really sure why, Ari, it's just, he understood me. I was quiet, reserved, and he just, got it. And then the jerk left, supposedly for five months on business, and then he never came back. After the first year, we all started losing hope, but after the second year, it was gone. All gone." Kayla sat up for a minute, only to lean against Ariadne.

"It's a good picture, you got the shadows right. And it's very realistic." Ariadne decided to leave that topic. Kayla looked at the sketch critically.

"You think? I don't really think it's that good." Kayla frowned at it. Ariadne took the sketch pad and pencil and flipped to a new page. Kayla looked at her quizzically. She watched as the woman carefully drew a duck.

"A duck?" Kayla asked incredulously. Kayla took back both items and drew the duck with a floppy hat. Handing it back, they continued the game until they had a duck with a floppy hat shopping for scarves in Miami, with surfer ducks in the background.

"As interesting as that was, I need to go get into those weird robe things you have to wear for graduation." Ariadne stood up and stretched. Kayla held out her sketch book, but Ariadne shook her head.

"I can get it later, you keep it. Draw in it while the ceremony goes on." Kayla smiled her thanks at Ariadne. She watched as she got up and went to the backstage area. She flipped back to her previous sketch, then glanced at the clock. She still had thirty minutes. She erased part of the scene, adding in a taller woman with her arm around the girl. Standing up, she realized, most people had taken their seats.

Getting up, she scanned the room, looking for her father. She locked eyes with the British guy, Eames? Odd name. He winked at her, then turned to the man she had crashed into. He glanced at her too, but then turned back to his conversation. She stood on her toes, not able to find her Dad. Realizing he was right behind the group she had met earlier, she hurried over, slipping into the aisle seat next to her dad. She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. She listened idly to the man John was talking too, but at some point switched to the people in front of her.

"When will Yusuf get here? I know he was going to cut it close, but it starts in ten minutes." The British man grumbled, leaning back in his chair. Cobb shrugged. Kayla realized they had to be their last names, who would name their kids Cobb and Eames?

"He's Yusuf, he'll be here, don't worry about it." The blond haired man reasoned. Kayla leaned back when she realized that the Arthur guy was on the other side of Cobb. She wondered who Yusuf was.

"He'll be here Eames, just relax." Arthur said. Eames was about to say something back, but seemed to restrain himself when Cobb shot him a look.

"You look stressed Arthur," Cobb looked worried. "Why?"

"I wasn't expecting them to be here!" Arthur groaned. "I would never have agreed to come if I'd known." Kayla sat up, paying more attention now. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he seemed exactly like her uncle…

"Based on the girl's reaction, I doubt they know you're here. After the ceremony, you can leave and they won't be in any danger." Eames replied lazily. Kayla studied him for a second.

"But what if Kayla did notice that it actually was me? What if she goes and tells Emma I'm here, or someone who looks exactly like me, or…" he was interrupted by the arrival of a man. He had a black beard and didn't look very active.

"What's going on?" he asked, sitting in the only chair left and raising an eyebrow. Eames sighed dramatically.

"Arthur here is freaking out because he saw his niece who is supposed to think he's dead so that her and her family aren't hurt." He said. He swiveled in his seat to look at Arthur. "Honestly, if she didn't realize it was you when she crashed into us earlier, she won't recognize you now." Kayla didn't hear the rest of the conversation. She felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over her head, she wanted to get up and scream, but she also felt paralyzed. She turned to look at the man to her left, not caring if any of them turned around and saw here.

He shouldn't have known her mother's name.

That man had to be her Uncle Arthur.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, school has been crazy. I'm sorry if the way I wrote the graduation isn't realistic, I've never been to one. Also, feel free to review, it would help a lot.**

**I don't own Inception**

The actual ceremony was finally happening. Ariadne watched from her point behind Marissa as the teachers walked out onto the stage and took their places. One of the helpers gestured to the front of the line and the line of graduates marched out and took their seats in the first row of seats. Before she sat down, she looked around quickly at the sea of people watching them. She caught a glance of a smirk and started to whip her head around to look, but Marissa tugged her down.

"Sit down, they're about to start the speeches," she hissed. Ariadne sighed quietly and leaned back. She watched the stage as the head of the school, Mr. Lewis, stood up at the podium and started his speech. Professor Miles caught her eye and smiled warmly at her. She managed a small grin in return, and then returned to her swirling thoughts. She started to think about the glimpse of a face she had seen while sitting down, the smirk that looked exactly like Eames, and started to get excited and restless, until she forced herself to ignore the feeling. Turning back to the ceremony, she focused on the speech until they announced they were starting to hang out the diplomas.

Students got up and walked to the podium, shook hands with the head, then sat back down. Besides her, Marissa was getting antsy, shifting back and forth.

"Emma Walters!" Mr. Lewis called, and the two women watched as Emma got up and climbed the steps to the stage. Crossing to the podium, she took the diploma and shook Mr. Lewis's hand. Smiling at the crowd, she walked quickly back to her seat.

"Marissa James!" The red haired girl shot up and skipped up the steps. Mr. Lewis smiled at her enthusiasm as she came to a stop next to him. He handed her his diploma and she shook his hand quickly, smiling at the crowd and hurrying back to her seat. Ariadne grinned at her as she sat back down. She bumped Ariadne's shoulder.

"It's almost done," she said, bouncing in her seat, "But you still have to go." She remembered. Just as she said the words, Mr. Lewis spoke.

"Ariadne Myers," he said and Ariadne got up quietly and walked to the edge of the stage. Not wanting to look at the crowd in front of her, she kept her eyes trained on the wooden podium. She approached the head. He smiled at her and handed her the paper, holding out his hand as he did. She gave a small smile and took the paper, shaking his hand. She looked out over the mass of unknown people. Scanning the crowd, no one she knew came into focus. She trotted down the stairs, taking her place next to Marissa once again.

After all the diplomas were handed out, another few speeches from the teachers were said, and then the ceremony was over. Getting up, Marissa and Ariadne went to meet Emma.

"We're done!" Marissa squealed, jumping up and down. Emma laughed, jumping up and down with her. Ariadne grinned as John and Kayla came over. Kayla looked like she was about to either scream or burst into tears. Emma hugged her husband then turned to hug Kayla, and saw the girl's face.

"What's wrong, Kayla?" she asked, concerned. Kayla looked at her and tried to smile.

"I'm fine, Mom, just thinking," she told Emma. Emma looked at her for another moment, but Kayla hugged her and walked over to Ariadne.

"Here you go," she held out the worn sketchpad, "I drew some things in it." Ariadne smiled at the younger girl and gently took the notepad.

"I'm sure they're amazing, but at the moment, I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a few minutes." Marissa nodded, falling back to the conversation with Emma. Ariadne turned on her heel and headed towards the restroom. About halfway there, she felt two hands cover her eyes, blocking her vision.

"Guess who?" A voice said, ridiculously high. Ariadne sucked in a breath.

"No way," she breathed, trying to turn around, but the person wouldn't let her.

"You haven't guessed yet!" A voice reminded her. She sighed.

"Eames," she said, "Let me move."

"Fine," the British man stepped back, removing his hands from her eyes. She spun around to see Eames smirking at her. She jumped forward and hugged him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked breathlessly, as Eames hugged her back.

"We came to see you graduate of course!" he replied as if it was obviously. She extracted herself.

"Wait, _we_?" she looked behind Eames to see Cobb, Yusuf, and Arthur standing behind him.

"You guys are here!" she looked at the three of them for a minute, before hugging Cobb. He laughed and hugged her back.

"Did you honestly think we wouldn't be?" he asked her. She looked up at him as she stepped back.

"Well, yes. I haven't heard from you in a year." She reminded him. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I've been catching up with Phillipa and James." He told her, looking somewhat guilty. She turned to Yusuf.

"I thought you were never leaving Mombasa again." She hugged him quickly, the stepped back, wondering about his answer. He sighed.

"Eames forced me too. He said if I didn't come he would come back to Mombasa he would come to my lab and drag me to Paris." He stated matter of factly. Ariadne grinned at him and turned to Eames.

"Would you have done it?" she asked the forger. He shrugged.

"Most likely." He was about to continue, when Kayla came rushing through. Ariadne gripped her shoulders to keep her from falling over as she skidded to a halt in front of the brunette. Kayla looked up, and Ariadne saw tears streaming down the girl's face. Ariadne forgot about the others as she saw Kayla's face.

"What's wrong? Is Emma all right? Is-" she cut off as Kayla looked around and saw the men around her.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt." she said quietly. She looked around at the four men around her. She spotted Arthur and froze, glaring at the dark haired man so violently he took a small step back. "I…" she trailed off, lowering her gaze to the floor. Ariadne realized the young girl was trembling. "I'll leave," she murmured, turning around and fleeing into the crowd.

"Kayla!" Ariadne went to follow her, then remembered the others. She turned to them. "Do you mind if I-"

"It's fine, we can see you later." Cobb smiled at her and she nodded quickly. She dove into the crowd, weaving around teachers and families, looking for Kayla. She finally saw the girl slipping out the door. Ariadne hurried after her, and saw Kayla turned away from her, sitting on the ground and watching the street. Tears were still falling, and she angrily rubbed them away. Ariadne walked over quietly and sat next to the girl. Kayla ignored her, still watching the road.

"You can see the Eiffel Tower from here." Kayla finally broke the silence, pointing at the distant tower. "I love going there. Sometimes I'll just sit up at the top. There's usually a few minutes in between the tour groups, and it'll be quiet except for the sounds of the city below. It's so peaceful. I imagine it's like the Empire State Building." Kayla finally turned to Ariadne. The woman could see the tracks her tears had left behind.

"It really is beautiful from up there." Ariadne agreed, leaning against the building behind her. She looked cautiously at the girl besides her. "What's wrong, Kayla?"

"Nothing! I'm fine, just, confused…" Kayla replied quickly, and Ariadne raised an eyebrow at her. Kayla held her gaze, raising her chin stubbornly. After a few moments, Ariadne spoke again.

"Then why did you run out of the hall crying?" Ariadne asked gently. Kayla turned away, looking at the ground for a moment until sighing and copying Ariadne's position. She kept silent, tracing patterns on her jean leg. She sighed again and started talking, but kept her head down.

"I know you've heard about my uncle, Arthur, who disappeared four years ago. I've personally thought he was dead, although Mom always told me I shouldn't give up so easily. I mean, he would never leave and not come back. Never! So I thought the only reason he couldn't come back was because he was dead. And, it was easier to believe that than think that he left purposely forever." She whispered the last sentence. "But, just a few minutes ago, I saw him again."

Ariadne started too suspicious, and her stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots. But she stayed relaxed, not wanting to scare the girl next to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"That man, the one that wasn't British, the only one in an actual suit. I, I think he-" she paused. "No, he _is _my uncle. He looked exactly like my uncle, he knew Mom's name when he shouldn't have, and I _know_ he recognized me." She finally met Ariadne's gaze. "How do you know him?"

"I worked with him about a year ago on a project. He never really talked about himself or his family." She added, catching Kayla's look. Kayla shrugged.

"That does sound like Uncle Arthur." Her face became thoughtful. "Was that the project that made you go to Los Angeles? The really secretive one that made Marissa think you were a spy and that you were in the mafia?" Ariadne smiled at that.

"Yeah, that project." Ariadne stood up. "Come on, let's get inside. I think it's going to rain." Kayla stood up and wrapped her arms around her thin frame. She followed her in, letting the door slam behind her.

"I'm going to go find Mom," Kayla said softly. Ariadne nodded, looking around for Cobb and Eames. Kayla disappeared into the crowd as Ariadne spotted Yusuf and started over.

"I'm back," she said, slipping into the circle. Three men turned to look at her. "Hey, where's Arthur?"

Eames shrugged. "He disappeared soon after you left. It was weird." Ariadne sat down on one of the chairs that had been used during the graduation. Ariadne turned to Cobb.

"How are Phillipa and James?" she asked. Cobb immediately smiled. He and Ariadne started talking about them while Eames and Yusuf went to find food.

"And then-" he cut off as Kayla stumbled to a stop between them.

"I can't find them! I've looked everywhere! I even asked professor Miles if he had seen them, and he hasn't since the ceremony. Have-"

"Calm down, Kayla," Ariadne looked at the desperate look on Kayla's face. "Explain more slowly." Kayla took a deep breath.

"Mom and Dad, even Marissa. I can't find them. Their stuff is still here, but I've looked everywhere. I don't know what to do. They're not here." She said, shifting from foot to foot. Cobb looked up.

"Arthur should have been back by now too. Have you seen Eames or Yusuf?" he asked the nervous girl.

"The British one and the chubby one?" she asked. Cobb smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, they're raiding the food." Cobb rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I'll help you look." Ariadne stood up, and so did Cobb.

"I need to find Arthur anyway." The three spread out, deciding to meet at the stage. Ariadne pushed through the crowd, looking for Marissa's red hair or John's laugh. Finding nothing, ten minutes later she met Cobb and Kayla back at the stage.

"Nothing," Cobb said when he saw her, and Kayla shook her head too.

"Where could they be?" she sat on the stage and started swinging her legs. Ariadne sat down next to her.

"We'll find them." She promised the young girl. Kayla didn't look convinced, but she nodded. Eames and Yusuf ambled over.

"Find our misplaced stick in the mud?" Eames asked. All three shook their heads. Eames frowned and got more serious. "They have to be here somewhere." Kayla looked like she was about to burst into tears again, but she nodded slowly. People were starting to leave the hall, going to celebrate the graduates.

"Come on, you can stay with me if you need to." Ariadne told the scared girl. She nodded, and the five of them walked out of the hall.


End file.
